


A Twist in My Story

by embulance



Series: A Twist Series [1]
Category: Big Hero 6 (2014), Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: (cause he sucks sorry not sorry), (except the twins sorry I love them), (maybe even dark harry idk man), Alternate Universe, Canon-Typical Violence, Challenge Response, Crossover Pairings, Crossovers & Fandom Fusions, Dumbledore Bashing, Gen, Good Draco Malfoy, Gratuitous Use of Fluff and Angst, Grey Harry, Hermione Granger Bashing, Hogwarts First Year, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, M/M, Multi, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Slytherin Harry, Tadashi's dead but then he's not, Weasley Bashing, first of seven fics, gratuitous use of tags, that's why the warning for character death is there
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-06-19
Updated: 2016-07-04
Packaged: 2018-04-05 02:34:07
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 8
Words: 10,785
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4162374
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/embulance/pseuds/embulance
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Hiro just wanted his brother back. Being transported to an alternate dimension was not part of the plan. Suddenly, he’s eleven years old again, his older brother has somehow become his twin and he’s a wizard? Nothing makes sense, but with his brother at his side and the help of some new friends, Hiro knows he’s going to make it in the wizarding world.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * In response to a prompt by Anonymous in the [Wizards_Vs_Muggles](https://archiveofourown.org/collections/Wizards_Vs_Muggles) collection. 



> **Prompt:**
> 
> Hiro was fiddling with another robotics project - trying to find out where his brother could be now (life after death). Something unexpected happens, and he ends up somewhere else... (Different time/realm/dimension, whatever.)
> 
> Bonus points for:  
> • Tadashi being alive in the new place,  
> • Weasley/Granger bashing  
> • Good Draco (possible pairing with Tadashi??)  
> • Smut!!!

Hiro thinks he’s finally figured it out; one or two more adjustments should do the trick. Wiping some sweat from his brow, the teen stands from his chair and stretches, wincing when his back makes a loud popping sound.

“Hiro, dinner’s ready,” Aunt Cass calls from the doorway.

Hiro grins and runs over to her side. “Awesome, what’s on the menu? Is it the hot wings that melt our faces off?” He asks hopefully.

“You know it!” Aunt Cass says excitedly.

“Yes!” Hiro does a quick little fistpump as he follows his aunt to the table.

The brunette woman sets a plate in front of the young genius before sitting down across from him with her own plate. “So what have you been working so hard on, Hiro?”

“Ah, just some upgrades for Baymax,” Hiro lies as he tears into one of the wings. “Ah, what did you put in these?” The dark-haired teen grabs for a glass of milk already set out for him. “Hot!” He waves at his face while his aunt laughs.

Life is good. But there’s still something-- someone-- missing.

Hiro just wants to fix that.

 

* * *

 

Hiro connects a few wires and winces when something sparks. Maybe he should be a bit more careful. But the time machine is so close to being complete! He’d already made several prototypes; there’d been no problems. There’s no reason to be so nervous about this!

Deft hands trim the rubber casing off a wire and carefully winds the end of the copper filament with another. Something sparks and he ignores it this time, letting go of the wires and turning to stand and step out of the machine. He doesn’t see the wires all clash together, none of them yet covered with the electrical tape.

What he does see is the bright flash of light, before his body feels as though it’s being taken through an egg beater, and bright lights and blurs of changing scenery. He hits the ground with a thump and lets out a groan before darkness consumes him.

 

 


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I literally wrote this at 5 am before work so if anything seems weird it's because I'm sleep deprived and sad bc work 
> 
> At least I have fic to cheer me up xD 
> 
> Enjoy c:

Hiro thinks he might be dead, judging by how sore he is. It takes him a moment to open his eyes, and when he does, he realizes he's on the floor, next to his bed. So for a minute, he thinks that the time machine just transported him to his bedroom somehow.

But then he spots it. A poster with people on flying brooms tossing a ball back and forth and zooming around. Suddenly, he's looking around more carefully. Gone is the computer and other similar gadgets. In their place are books of varying topics, some on something called 'transfiguration', some on 'ancient runes', 'arithmancy', or 'charms'. Hiro picks up a book entitled '1000 Magical Herbs and Plants' and flips through it quickly, catching a few things like 'Devil's Snare'.

Hiro quickly realizes that he's in some sort of alternate dimension, for these things did not exist in San Fransokyo.

A tapping sound drags him out of his thoughts and he sees an owl knocking its beak against the glass, two letters clutched in its talons.

Someone groans and then says in a whiny tone, "Hiro, let the owl in..."

The voice sounds familiar, like Tadashi but higher pitched, and Hiro lets the owl in before he realizes that the voice _came_ from Tadashi's side of the room.

He races over to the divider and he can't help but be a touch disappointed. The Tadashi that he sees is not _his_ Tadashi. This Tadashi is far younger than Hiro remembers. The last time Hiro saw Tadashi this small, Hiro himself was even smaller. This Tadashi can't be any older than eleven or twelve.

But still, despite the age, this is still his brother. This is Tadashi, even if not like Hiro remembers. Hiro will take what he can get.

Suddenly the owl swoops over and pecks at Hiro's hand. "What the--!"

Tadashi sits up with a groan, rubbing at his eyes. "Why haven't you taken its letters? " He asks with a yawn. "It might be our Hogwarts letters."

"Hog what?" Hiro tilts his head to the side in confusion.

Tadashi laughs as the owl flutters over to him and he takes the letters. "Sorry, I haven't got a treat over here." He turns to Hiro and looks at him like he's crazy. "Did you hit your head or something? Hogwarts, you know the school we've been looking forward to going to for like six years?"

Hiro wonders if he should tell his brother where he came from and why he doesn't know what's happening. He pauses for a moment and then plops down on Tadashi's bed. "Can I tell you something and you promise not to think I'm crazy?"

"Hiro, you know you can tell me anything," Tadashi responds easily.

Hiro lays down across the other boy's legs and says, "I didn't come from here. I came from some sort of other dimension... one where you were years older than me.... and you died in an accident. Or rather, you were murdered by a man you trusted so much that you risked your life to save him, only for me to find that he caused the fire that killed you."

Tadashi's expression doesn't change; he listens quietly and nods in the right places as Hiro explains about Big Hero 6 and the time machine he'd been developing to rescue him from the fire with.

When Hiro finishes speaking, Tadashi is silent for a moment before he finally comes up with a response. "Time is a very difficult sort of magic," he murmurs. "I don't have an explanation for why or how you traveled across dimensions, but I do believe you."

Hiro smiles up at his brother. "Thanks, Dashi... but uh, do you think you could explain what is going on here?"

Tadashi rubs the back of his neck, looking sheepish. "Oh right, I forgot, sorry." He falls silent, looking thoughtful for a moment and then he says, "We're twins, eleven years old and about to start our first year at Hogwarts, the premier school for witches and wizards in Britain. Ah, we live in a little wizarding village right near Hogwarts called Hogsmeade, and Aunt Cass runs the Lucky Cat Cafe, which is popular with students during the year. Let's see..." Tadashi pauses, looking around as he tries to think of what else to say. "Oh! Some people will ask about your blood status or whatever. We're halfbloods, our dad was pureblood and our mum was a halfblood."

"What does that mean?" Hiro asks softly.

Tadashi leans back against the headboard of his bed as he explains, "Pureblood basically is someone who has no muggle blood in them. Some of them look down on those who are not pure, and I don't really know why. Halfbloods are those who had wizarding parents, be they muggleborn, pureblood or anywhere in between, but also have fairly recent muggle relatives. And muggleborn are those with muggles for parents. They don't have any wizarding blood as far as anyone knows."

"So... these muggles, they're people with no magic, right?" Hiro questions.

Tadashi nods. "Yeah, exactly. There are lots of other things to explain, but I'll really have to do it as needed, 'cause if I sat here and tried to explain the whole of the wizarding world to you, we'd be here all day and I'm sure Aunt Cass will be calling us for breakfast soon. Oh, and she'll definitely want to see our letters. We should open them with her."

Hiro picks up the letters lying on the end of the bed and looks at them.

 

_Hiro Hamada_

_The Top Bedroom of the Lucky Cat Cafe_

_Hogsmeade, Scotland, Great Britain_

 

_Tadashi Hamada_

_The Top Bedroom of the Lucky Cat Cafe_

_Hogsmeade, Scotland, Great Britain_

 

Hiro passes Tadashi's letter to him with a grin. "So this is it? We're going to learn magic..."

Tadashi grins right back at his brother. "Yes, I do believe we are." He nudges at Hiro. "Get up, let's go show Aunt Cass so she can take us Diagon Alley!"

Hiro stands up with a laugh and tugs Tadashi from the bed. "Let's go-- wait, what's Diagon Alley?"

Tadashi shakes his head with a fond smile and explains as they go down the stairs.


	3. Chapter 3

Hiro and Tadashi run down the stairs, Hogwarts letters clutched tightly in their hands.

"Aunt Cass," Tadashi calls excitedly. "Aunt Cass, our letters came!"

Cass looks up from setting the table and smiles. "Did they? Wonderful, wonderful!" She ushers the boys to the table, hugging both of them. "Oh, I'm so proud of you two!" She cooes, placing plates of eggs and bacon in front of them. "My boys, all ready to go to Hogwarts!"

Tadashi digs into the food immediately with a mumbled thank you, while Hiro just looks at his aunt for a moment. Despite all the changes in this dimension, some things are much the same, and she is one of them. He smiles brightly and starts eating. The food is just as good as he remembers, and Hiro can't help but wonder if the food at Hogwarts will be as good.

"We'll have to go to Diagon Alley," Cass continues, sitting down at her own seat and munching a piece of bacon. "The cafe will have to be closed for the day. We'll take the floo, so when you're done, go ahead and put on your robes!"

Hiro looks to his brother for clarification, and Tadashi mouths, 'I'll explain upstairs,' while their aunt continues on in an excited rush.

"Well, go on then, open your letters!" She urges.

Both Hiro and Tadashi open the letters quickly and Hiro stares down at the paper in a bit of shock.  
  
 _HOGWARTS SCHOOL of WITCHCRAFT and WIZARDRY_  
  
 _Headmaster: Albus Dumbledore_  
 _(Order of Merlin, First Class, Grand Sorc., Chf. Warlock,_  
 _Supreme Mugwump, International Confed. of Wizards)_  
  


_Dear Mr Hamada,_   
_We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Please find enclosed a list of all necessary books and equipment._   
_Term begins on 1 September. We await your owl by no later than 31 July._   
_Yours sincerely,_   
_Minerva McGonagall_   
_Deputy Headmistress_

__

_HOGWARTS SCHOOL of WITCHCRAFT and WIZARDRY_   
_UNIFORM_   
_First-year students will require:_   
_1\. Three sets of plain work robes (black)_   
_2\. One plain pointed hat (black) for day wear_   
_3\. One pair of protective gloves (dragon hide or similar)_   
_4\. One winter cloak (black, with silver fastenings)_   
_Please note that all pupil's clothes should carry name tags._

__

_COURSE BOOKS_   
_All students should have a copy of each of the following:_

  
_The Standard Book of Spells (Grade 1)_   
_by Miranda Goshawk_   
  


_A History of Magic_   
_by Bathilda Bagshot_   
  


_Magical Theory_   
_by Adalbert Waffling_   
  


_A Beginner's Guide to Transfiguration_   
_by Emeric Switch_   
  


_1000 Magical Herbs and Fungi_   
_by Phyllida Spore_

__

_Magical Drafts and Potions_   
_by Arsenius Jigger_   
  


_Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them_   
_by Newt Scamander_   
  


_The Dark Forces: A Guide to Self-Protection_   
_by Quentin Trimble_

  
_OTHER EQUIPMENT_   
_1 wand_   
_1 cauldron (pewter, standard size 2)_   
_1 set glass or crystal phials_   
_1 telescope_   
_1 set brass scales_

__

_Students may also bring, if they desire, an owl OR a cat OR a toad._   
  


_PARENTS ARE REMINDED THAT FIRST YEARS_   
  
_ARE NOT ALLOWED THEIR OWN BROOMSTICK_

Hiro reads the letter over and over until Tadashi nudges him. "Bro, are you okay? You've been staring at that letter a long time..."

Hiro shakes his head and smiles at Tadashi. "Yeah, I'm fine. Just realized this is really happening is all."

Tadashi nods in understanding, but remains silent, going back to eating his eggs. He finishes before Hiro, but waits patiently for his brother, talking a bit with Aunt Cass about a few books he'd like to get.

Hiro finishes his food and both the brothers stand; Tadashi telling Cass that they'll be back as soon as they're ready as they head back upstairs to their rooms.

Once upstairs, Hiro immediately turns to Tadashi. "So what's floo?"

"It's a type of wizarding transportation, along with portkeys and apparition." Tadashi explains patiently as he changes into some slacks and a dress shirt. "Portkeys are easy, just hold on tight and you'll get there; apparition is teleportation basically and we're not old enough to do that, so I'm not gonna go on about it. Floo is the way we usually travel; it's a bit tricky, but not that hard. Aunt Cass will give us some floo powder. You throw it in the fireplace, step in, and say where you want to go. Make sure you pronounce the destination very clearly,  or you could end up who knows where. If you do that, just floo back to the Cafe, and it'll be fine. Most people are nice about it." Tadashi grabs a robe off the hook and slips his arms into it before buttoning it.

Hiro nods and looks his brother up and down. "Is that what we wear?"

Tadashi looks down at himself and laughs. "Yeah, robes, slacks and button ups most of the time, but Aunt Cass did make sure we have some muggle clothing. You're not used to how formal wizards dress compared to muggles, huh?"

Hiro digs through his drawers to find some wrinkled slacks and a button up shirt that's half buttoned. He dresses himself in it quickly and wrinkles his nose. "I don't like it."

Tadashi rolls his eyes. "You'll get used to it, knucklehead."

Hiro pauses in his search for a robe, freezing up. The other Tadashi had called him that too. Longing for that brother swept over him for a moment and then he shook his head. That would get him nowhere. Besides, this was that brother. Younger, perhaps, but the same at heart.

Hiro finds a robe underneath his bed with some books and wrinkled papers haphazardly thrown on it. He yanks it out and triumphantly tugs it on.

Tadashi laughs and shakes his head. "Come on, nerd; Aunt Cass is waiting, and I bet Fred has shown up by now. He's usually here by now."

"Fred?" Hiro asks. "Like the nerdy one?"

"Yeah, loves muggle comic books, Japanese culture and most muggle things." Tadashi replies. "Did you have a Fred in the other place?"

Hiro nods. "Yeah, he was a part of your nerd crew and then after... well, later he was in Big Hero 6."

"Well, the nerd crew, as you put it, is me, you, Fred, and Gogo. Fred comes over everyday, and Gogo nearly everyday." Tadashi smiles. "Once in awhile, we hang out with a couple of pureblood kids, but they usually don't want to hang out very often. They like us well enough, but their parents think we're questionable." He laughs. "They only allow it because the Hamada name is well-known." He shakes his head in amusement and grabs his brother's hand, tugging him down the stairs after him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, the next chapter might take awhile to get posted; it's looking to be a fair bit longer than these first few chapters have been so far. But it'll be worth a few days wait, I promise! You'll some get Fred and Draco and Gogo, and some cameos by Harry and Hagrid. Hell, they might actually be legit appearances by Harry since I don't know how long this next chapter is gonna be x) There's gonna be a few things up my sleeve for the next chapter too that'll make it worth your time :)


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeah, this chapter was originally twice as long and still unfinished, but it's been awhile since I posted, so I cut it in half. The gang will meet Harry in the next chapter and get wands :) it'll also be a bit longer than this chapter too (unless I end up doing the same thing to the next one that I did to this one xD) 
> 
> Well, enough out of me! Enjoy :)

Hiro and Tadashi barely get downstairs before they're being bowled over by a very excited blonde in robes. Hiro notes that even as a wizard, Fred still wears the customary teal beanie. "Hiro, Tadashi, look at it in all its gloriousness," Fred crows proudly, holding out his Hogwarts letter. "Gaze upon it!"

"Gloriousness isn't even a real word, Fred." Tadashi states.

Fred pouts. "Why do you always say that?"

Hiro grins, thinking of Fred and the rest of the Nerd Crew back in San Fransokyo. Some of the parallels make this easier, knowing that they really are the same people-- just with different memories.

Tadashi laughs. “Forget about that; where’s Gogo? Did she firecall you this morning or--?”

“Yeah, she’ll meet us at Quality Quidditch-- you know she likes to go go fast.” Fred says with a giggle.

“If she doesn’t just make her own broom one day, I’ll eat your socks,” Tadashi tells the other boy.

Hiro snorts. “If you eat those socks, you’re gonna die.”

Aunt Cass comes into the room with a small pot of green powder. “Enough about socks, boys; Diagon Alley awaits. Off to the Leaky Cauldron with you.”

Tadashi nods and takes a handful of floo and throws it into the fire. He steps into the jade flames. “Leaky Cauldron!” The flames jump up, consuming him, and when they die down, Tadashi is gone. Hiro tries not to think about how the last time he saw his brother disappear into a fire, he never came back.

This is not the same, he reminds himself. It’s not. And he’ll repeat it to himself as much as he has to.

Fred scoops up some of the powder and before anyone can even blink, the boy is chucking the powder in the flames and running in, shouting the Leaky Cauldron as though it was a warcry.

“Go on then, Hiro,” Cass says with a smile.

Hiro reluctantly gathers some floo powder in his hands and turns to face the fireplace. He needs to calm down. Sucking in a deep breath, the boy throws the powder in the fire, watching as it changes colors. He steps in and calls out, “Leaky Cauldron!”

Hiro feels like he is spinning like a top and he closes his eyes, feeling a bit scared. Teleportation was impossible in San Fransokyo. Abigail Callaghan had been proof enough of that for Hiro to stay far away from that science, though if anyone could've done it, it would've been him. Suddenly, he's falling out of the fireplace, only to be caught by a platinum blonde boy.

"Good save, Draco," Tadashi says gratefully. Hiro knows that his brother made sure to say the boy's name specifically for his benefit, and he is grateful.

He separates himself from Draco with a slight smile. "Thanks, Draco."

"Yeah, you owe me now, Hamada," the blonde smirks and studies his nails carefully. "You'll owe me some... assistance at Hogwarts, I do believe. Don't think that I am not aware that you'll be top of the class."

Hiro grins. "Too right you are," he responds, looking around a bit for Aunt Cass and realizing that Draco seems to be alone. "Where are your mum and dad?"

"Mother and Father are at Gringotts, collecting money for our outing today. They allowed me to stay with you lot for a bit while they're busy." Draco doesn't look up from his nails, and Hiro finds the high and mighty act amusing.

Tadashi does, too, judging by his snickers. "We are so _honored_ by our Lord's presence," he giggles as Cass steps out of the fire.

"Sorry for the hold up, I almost forgot to bring the Gringotts keys," she explains, holding up two little gold keys. "You two get to go in the trust funds your father set up for you this year, and it would have been a pity to not let you have some spending money for books and a few other treats."

Tadashi smiles brightly at his aunt. "Thank you."

"Don't thank me," she laughs, "Thank your father for caring enough to set this up for you."

Tadashi's expression looks wistful for a moment, and Hiro looks away, feeling as though he is intruding on something private.

Glancing over to Fred and Draco, he sees the two blondes staring at each other, or rather, Fred is attempting to utilize puppy dog eyes on the other boy and Draco is glaring fiercely.

Tadashi swoops in between the two boys and throws an arm over each of the blondes' shoulders. "Come on, you two; let's get along. Fred, you know Draco despises those nicknames, if you're going to insist on nicknaming him, perhaps you should come up with something a little less obvious."

"But Dragon is so cool, and Silver, well, look at him!" Fred protests. "What about Dragonzilla?" He suggests after a moment of thinking.

"No," Draco practically shrieks. "That is just as awful as that horrible nickname you gave yourself! It might even be worse!"

"Fredzilla is a magnificent name," Fred whines.

Tadashi laughs and pats Fred's arm. "Maybe it's best to just give in on this one, Freddie. You're gonna be hard pressed to find a nickname Draco won't fight you on."

Fred pouts and Hiro shakes his head. He can't quite believe that even as a wizard, Fred still insists on the horrible nickname that is Fredzilla.

Aunt Cass cuts in on the boys' conversations now. "Come on, boys; we should get a move on to Gringotts. The longer we take there, the longer you'll keep Gogo waiting, and we all know that the brooms will only hold her attention for so long."

"Yes, we must hurry to save my sweet Gogo," Fred gasps dramatically as they start walking towards the back of the Leaky Cauldron.

"Not sure sweet is the word I'd use to describe _her_ ," Draco mumbles under his breath. "She'd probably kill you if she heard that."

Cass leads them out to the back and taps the brick that opens the alley. Hiro can't help but look around excitedly at everything. This is beyond what he'd imagined. Everyone around them is talking and chattering, and Hiro catches the tail-end of many conversations.

"But Hagrid, how am I going to pay for all of this? I haven't got any money," a thin boy with taped-up glasses and messy dark hair questions.

A giant man (Hiro can't help but wonder if he's _actually_ a giant) with a scraggly beard and dark, beetle-like eyes responds, "Well, there's your money, Harry! Gringotts, the wizard bank. Ain't no place safer, not one. 'Cept maybe Hogwarts."

Hiro smiles slightly at the boy as they pass him. Fred grins wider the closer they get to the bank, whispering that goblins are cool, like Godzilla, only smaller and smarter. Tadashi laughs at him and Draco calls the other blonde an idiot. Hiro can't help but smile watching his brother spend time with his friends. He had seen it plenty of times before the accident, but he never realized  that you could miss something so small.

Cass ushers the little group inside the imposing building, up white stairs and through bronze doors flanked by what Hiro assumes are goblins, judging by Fred's excitement, clad in scarlet and gold. They walk through the small entrance hall to a second set of doors in silver, with a warning to thieves engraved upon them.

_Enter, stranger, but take heed_   
_Of what awaits the sin of greed_   
_For those who take, but do not earn,_   
_Must pay most dearly in their turn._   
_So if you seek beneath our floors_   
_A treasure that was never yours,_   
_Thief, you have been warned, beware_   
_Of finding more than treasure there._

Cass doesn't stop at the doors, nor does the rest of the group, so Hiro has to run a bit to catch up. The brunette woman approaches one of the tellers and states that there are several vaults they need to access, pointing to herself, Hiro, Tadashi and Fred.

The goblin teller calls for goblins named Gornuk and Bogrod to come assist them. As they head to the carts, Hiro spots the boy with the giant man. He waves as Fred drags him away, chattering excitedly about how much fun the bank is and how cool goblins are. He doesn’t see the other boy wave back, eyes wide.

Aunt Cass goes in a cart by herself with Bogrod, leaving the four boys to cram in a cart together with Gornuk. Gornuk didn't seem particularly inclined to speak to them, not that anyone seemed to mind. The cart suddenly lurched forward and Hiro clutched to the side of the cart. He's reminded of flying with Baymax and feels a pang of regret. There is no way that Baymax will exist in this world. His greatest confidant and best friend after Tadashi's death will never be anything more than a memory in the wizarding world. That hurts more than Hiro can say.

The cart stops just as suddenly as it started, jerking Hiro out of his thoughts. They'd arrived at what looked to be a giant rock on a cliff with two doors, side by side.

"Here are Mr. Hamada and Mr. Hamada's trust funds, vault 336 and 335." Gornuk says, opening one of the doors. "Hiro first," the goblin gestures to the open door, holding out a money pouch.

Hiro takes the bag and stares in amazement at the piles of little gold, silver and bronze coins while his brother gets the same treatment as he did, Gornuk opening his vault and giving him a pouch as well.

Hiro doesn’t even stoop down to pick up any of the coins. While he’s no stranger to large amounts of money (after all, people were willing to pay huge amounts of money for his expertise in robotics), these glittering gold coins seem so much more substantial than silly pieces of paper or numbers in an account. He jumps in the air when Tadashi places a hand on his shoulder.

“It’s a lot of money, huh?” He says with a grin. “Galleons, sickles and knuts,” he says, pointing to the gold, silver, and bronze coins in that order. Twenty-nine knuts to a sickle and seventeen sickles to a galleon.” The boy’s voice is soft, so as not to attract attention from Fred or Draco, although it would be hard to do so since Fred has threatened to muss Draco’s hair, leading to Draco threatening to make a tie out of Fred’s insides.

Hiro grabs a few handfuls of each type of coin and shoves them in the coin purse. Tadashi smiles at him and grabs a couple more handfuls of the galleons, adding them to Hiro’s bag. “Trust me,” he shoves his coin purse in a pocket in his robes. “You’ll want it once you see Flourish and Blotts. There are tons of books of every sort; you might even be able to find some on the things you liked in the other dimension, or maybe something to help you get back there.”

“You’d… help me leave?” Hiro questions, sounding shocked. He knows that if he had gotten Tadashi back in San Fransokyo, he’d have done whatever it took to keep him there.

Tadashi smiles and shrugs. “Well, yeah, if you’d be happier there, then I want you to go back.”

Hiro throws his arms around his brother, burying his head in the taller boy’s shoulder. It had been awhile; he’d almost forgotten that Tadashi didn’t really have a selfish bone in his body. Tadashi seems a bit surprised for a moment, and then he wraps his arms around Hiro and smiles at him.

“Come on, let’s not keep Fred and Draco waiting any longer,” Tadashi murmurs. “If we leave them alone much longer, Draco will probably kill Fred.”

Hiro laughs and nods, taking Tadashi’s hand and dragging him out of the vault. Tadashi had been right; the two blondes were fighting, or rather, Fred was lying on the ground passively while Draco rested his boot in the center of his back and looking smug. Tadashi shakes his head and pulls Draco away from Fred with a gentle smile. Fred picks himself off the ground and promptly hugs the two boys, causing Draco to shriek about dirt on his robes and Tadashi to roll his eyes.

Gornuk clears his throat, and the boys jump. “If we could?” He gestures to the cart, sounding irritated. Hiro can’t really blame him for being annoyed; their little group is rather boisterous.

The boys all crowd back into the cart, with Draco and Tadashi pausing to murmur apologies to Gornuk. The cart starts again, travelling faster this time and deeper down. Hiro shivers as it gets colder, crowding closer to Tadashi in an attempt to stay warm. They do not have to go very far; Fred’s own trust vault appears not to be too far from the twins’.

“Vault 504,” Gornuk intones, sounding bored. He opens the vault and Fred runs in with an excited whoop, gathering coins to his bag far faster than either of the Hamada brothers and quickly running back out. The other three boys didn’t even have time to get out of the cart.

“Back to the surface,” Fred crows as Gornuk gets back in the cart and they start back to the surface.

 


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this whole working twice what i used to thing is really killing my muse, so this is another chapter that was originally a lot longer before i cut it in half. soon we'll be REALLY deviating from canon though ;) 
> 
> enjoy :)

The trip back to ground level is uneventful, save for Draco threatening to throw Fred out the cart. Hiro has begun to realize that these threats that Draco gives to Fred are commonplace, not that it would bother Fred if everyone started to threaten his life.

Back at the surface, Aunt Cass is already waiting for them. “Come on, boys, let’s get onto Quality Quidditch and get Gogo,” she says cheerfully.

The four boys nod and rush out of the bank, Cass following closely behind them. Hiro is grateful when Tadashi takes his hand and guides him along with the group. The group goes to an average-sized shop with a sleek-looking broom on display proudly advertised as the Nimbus 2000. Gogo storms out of the shop, presumably seeing them through the window. Her black robes with purple trimming flare out around her, making her an impressive sight to the four boys, who cower before her.

“What took you so long?” She asks, eyes narrowed. “You guys went to Gringotts, didn’t you?”

Tadashi laughs nervously. “Yeah, kinda?”

She blows a bubble and pops her gum. “Whatever. As long as you get me more Droobles, I don’t care. Let’s just go get our wands. Ollivander’s is close; get it over with, yeah?”

Hiro wonders if a wand will even help him; is he even really a wizard? After all, this is not his world. Perhaps he will be unable to do magic and then what will he do? Tadashi seems to detect Hiro’s fears, just as he’d often done as his older brother in San Fransokyo, because he pulls him to the side and tells him it doesn’t matter what happens while squeezing his hand reassuringly. Hiro smiles and nods, because though the fear remains deep in the pit of his stomach, he feels the same safety his older brother used to provide and he knows that no matter what, he’ll have this Tadashi just as much as he had the other Tadashi. He’s not alone and that makes things better; he trusts his brother to support him no matter what.

Tadashi grins when his brother seems to have cheered a bit and quickly drags him after their group that has left while Tadashi soothed Hiro’s anxieties. “Come on, let’s get us a wand,” he says cheerfully. “I’m certain you’ll get something fantastic.”

“Hurry up, boys, or your friends will get all the wands,” Cass calls teasingly as Fred drags Gogo into the shop excitedly, Draco following behind them after pausing to talk to a tall blonde man who Hiro assumes is his father.

Tadashi laughs slightly and tugs his brother along into the shop. The tall blonde man waits outside, looking disinterested in his surroundings. Hiro quickly walks by him, head lowered so as to avoid eye contact. He’s not sure how to handle this man.

The inside of the wand shop was tiny, with thousands of narrow boxes piled high to the ceiling, looking as though they must be supported by magic to remain stacked as they are. Hiro doesn’t feel compelled to look around curiously at everything in this shop, unlike Gringotts, for there is very little to see.

“Good afternoon,” says a soft voice. Hiro barely manages to avoid jumping, though the same can’t be said for Draco and Tadashi. Gogo and Fred seem unaffected, or rather, Gogo seems unaffected and Fred too excited to be surprised. Aunt Cass appears to have expected this; Hiro is sure that she must have done this before for both herself and his father.

The old man that stood before the group had wide, pale eyes that shone like moons through the gloom of the shop.

“Hello,” Fred says, voice betraying his excitement just as much as the excited bouncing back and forth on his feet.

“Ah yes,” the man murmurs. “Yes, yes. I thought I’d been seeing you all soon. The Hamadas, a Malfoy, a Lee, and a Tanaka. A mixed up group you make, hm?” It wasn’t really a question, though perhaps it was phrased like one. He shakes his head, seeming more amused than anything.

He then notices Aunt Cass. Hiro feels a touch relieved; Ollivander, for that’s who this man must be, is quite unsettling.

“Cass! Cass Hamada! How nice to see you again… Redwood, ten inches, flexible, wasn’t it?”

Cass smiles, pulling the wand out of her sleeve. It is a red color and gleams in the dim light; it’s clear that the brunette woman polishes her wand often. “Yes, it is a marvelous wand, thank you.”

Ollivander plucks the wand from her hand for a moment and looks at it closely. “You’ve taken excellent care of it; I’m sure it’s served you well in return, yes?”

Cass nods, and Ollivander smiles slightly, before turning to Fred. “Your wand arm, please?”

“My right arm, right?” Fred asks, still overly excited.

Ollivander nods, and starts measuring the blonde, shoulder to finger, wrist to elbow, shoulder to floor, knee to armpit and round his head. As he measures, he says, “Every Ollivander wand has a core of a powerful magical substance. We use unicorn hairs, phoenix tail feathers and the heartstrings of dragons. No two Ollivander wands are the same, just as no two unicorns, dragons, or phoenixes are quite the same. And of course, you will never get such good results with another wizard’s wand.”

He lets the tape measure continue measuring Fred as he pulls out boxes. Without looking back, Ollivander tells the others to lift their wand arms; Tadashi lifts his right, like the others but whispers in Hiro’s ear to lift his dominant hand.

Tape measurers float over to each of the group, starting to measure them as Ollivander held out a wand to Fred. Hiro fleetingly wonders how Ollivander keeps track of all their measurements.

“Try this one, maple and phoenix feather. Seven inches. Quite whippy.”

Fred takes it and waves it happily, but nothing seems to happen. Ollivander seems unsurprised as he takes it back.

“Hornbeam and unicorn hair, nine inches, rather solid.”

Fred doesn’t even close his fingers around the wand before taking it back.

“No, no-- here, try this. Dogwood and dragon heartstring, twelve and three quarter inches, springy.”

The second the wand touches Fred’s hand, a bright glow emits from it.

“Bravo!” Mr. Ollivander cheers, taking the wand and putting it back in the box. “And who’s next?”

Draco goes next, going through four wands before being paired with a unicorn hair and hawthorn wand. After Draco is Gogo, who tries nearly twenty wands before finding her match in a dragon heartstring and fir wand.

Ollivander tries to pair Tadashi with a wand next, offering him five different wands to no success. The sixth wand he selects is a willow and unicorn hair wand that is swishy. Tadashi waves the wand, and blue and green lights gently float in the air, looking reminiscent of fairy lights.

Hiro’s turn is next, and Hiro swallows back the touch of fear that’s creeping over him. Ollivander offers him the same wand he first offered Fred. Hiro touches it and it zaps him, feeling like static electricity shot through his hand. He quickly snatches his hand back, and Ollivander shakes his head, putting the wand back in the box and bringing out another.

“Elm and unicorn hair, nine inches, unbending.”

Hiro wraps his fingers around it, giving it a wide wave. Nothing happens. Ollivander takes it away and offers him another wand.

Hiro tries the wand. And tries another wand. And another. He quickly piles up more wands than even Gogo did. Hiro quickly gets frustrated and anxious. What if he was right, and he is no wizard? What will he do?

As Ollivander hands him yet another wand, this one crafted of phoenix feather and walnut (reasonably supple, ten and a half inches), Tadashi places a soothing hand on Hiro’s shoulder. The shorter boy sucks in a breath and takes the wand, giving it a short flick. Bright red fireworks burst from the wand tip and the sparks come to swirl about Hiro’s form for a moment.

Everyone claps, and Hiro gets the feeling that most of them are just relieved that he was finally chosen by a wand, though he’s sure that Tadashi’s and Fred’s happiness is genuine.

As Mr. Ollivander wraps all their wands, he mutters, “The wand chooses the wizard, remember that. I think we must expect great things from all of you. Yes, great things indeed.”

Cass shakes her head and places down fourteen galleons for Hiro’s and Tadashi’s wands, as Gogo, Draco, and Fred place down their own seven galleons. As they leave, Cass mumbles, “He says that about everyone.” She snorts and the tall blonde man stops her just as she starts to lead the group away from the wand shop.

“Miss Hamada, thank you for watching Draco, but it is time for him to come with us.” The man says.

Draco frowns. “Father, we haven’t got any supplies besides our wands; can’t we stay with the Hamadas a while longer?”

Draco’s father looks the group up and down, and Hiro gets the distinct feeling that Mr. Malfoy is trying to decide how worthy they are of his presence. Finally, the man nods his ascent.

“Thank you, father!” Draco says happily. Hiro thinks that had the boy’s father not been there he likely would have shown some form of excitement beside the change in his voice. The dark-haired boy immediately decides right then and there that Draco’s father is someone he doesn’t wish to spend too much time with.

“Where to next?” Aunt Cass murmurs to herself, before seeming to come to a decision. “Right, let’s get to Madam Malkin’s, get you lot a few robes for school, yeah?”

Mr. Malfoy doesn’t seem pleased with this; Hiro gets the feeling that the man wants to leave as quickly as possible. “Perhaps it would be faster if I went and purchased Draco’s books while you continue with… this.”

The man doesn’t wait for a response before he leaves, heading for the shop.

Fred frowns. “Draco, why does your father dislike us so much?”

Draco shakes his head. “Don’t worry about it. It’s nothing.”

Fred looks like he’s gonna say something, when Tadashi trips over his own feet in faked, over-exaggerated movements, cutting the boy off.

“Oh, look,” Tadashi says loudly. “We’re here!” Fred grins and rushes into the shop; Hiro follows behind the blonde. He almost misses the way Tadashi whispers to Draco, “You’ll have to tell them some time; I’m not going to cover forever.”

Inside the shop, Fred has already greeted Madam Malkin, a squat, smiling witch dressed in all mauve.

“Hogwarts, dear?” She says, before either Hiro or the others can say anything. “Got the lot here-- another young man being fitted up just now, in fact.”

In the back of the shop, the same skinny boy with messy dark hair that Hiro noticed earlier is standing on a footstool while a second witch pins up his long black robes. Madam Malkin stands Hiro on a stool next to him, slips a robe far too long over his head and starts pinning up his robes while his friends chatter amicably up front.

“So you’re going to Hogwarts too?” Hiro asks the other boy after a moment of awkward silence.

“Yes,” says the other boy. He seems almost unsure of how to have a friendly conversation, like he expects something snide to come out of Hiro’s mouth now that he’s spoken.

Hiro smiles, thinking perhaps it might make the boy ease up. He appears to have done something right, because the other boy eases up slightly. “I’m Hiro Hamada. Maybe we can be friends?” He suggests.

“I’m Harry.” After a moment, the boy adds, “Harry Potter.” He says this soft and hesitantly, seeming to expect some sort of response, but Hiro doesn’t recognize the name.

“If you’re not already here with someone, you can join our group if you want. We’re a pretty big group, but there’s always room for one more.” Hiro offers. “That is, if your parents don’t mind, of course.”

After a moment of surprised silence, the boy says, “I haven’t got any parents. I’m here with the gamekeeper from Hogwarts.”

“Oh, sorry,” Hiro mumbles sheepishly. “I don’t have parents either; I live with my aunt in our cafe. She wouldn’t mind you bringing him along; she loves it when we have lots of friends. You should ask him. It would be fun…”

Harry smiles at the other boy, though he seems cautious. “Yeah, I just might do that.”

Hiro grins right back. He thinks this just might be the start of a beautiful friendship.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so this might have been shorter than it was supposed to be, but on the plus side, harry is here and he's hanging with the nerd crew... okay, he's mostly hanging with hiro but still. harry.


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> tbh i'm surprised i finished this as fast as i did. also i'm really unsure if i like this chapter. like really really unsure. but oh well. i'm too tired to care right now. feel free to yell at me if it sucks.

It takes nearly an hour for their whole group to finish getting fitted for robes; Hiro and Harry talk in hushed voices the entire time. Tadashi spends most of the time talking with Draco or keeping Draco from attempting to kill Fred, while Fred goes between talking with Tadashi and Draco to talking with Gogo.

Outside, Harry quickly approaches Hagrid and asks if they can finish their shopping with the Hamadas. He looks over to the group, sees Cass wave and smiles before agreeing.

They went to buy books at Flourish and Blotts where the shelves were stacked to the ceiling with books as large as paving stones bound in leather; books the size of postage stamps in covers of silk; books full of peculiar symbols and a few books with nothing in them at all. Hiro couldn’t help but think that Honey Lemon would love it here. He shakes his head for a moment, reminding himself that it’s likely that she will get the opportunity to come here; after all, if he, Tadashi, Gogo and Fred are wizards, it’s likely that she is as well, along with Wasabi. He wonders if they’re just not friends because they’re muggleborns and haven’t met yet. Hiro hopes that’s the case as he pulls _A Beginner’s Guide to Ancient Runes_ off the shelf.

Tadashi seems to appear from nowhere, leaning over his shoulder and peering at his book. “Wow, good choice! Runes can be used in so much… if you don’t get that one, let me know; I definitely want to read it.”

Hiro grins and flips to the introduction, scanning it quickly and immediately deciding to keep it when he spots the words ‘uses in spell-crafting and warding’. “You’ll have to wait for me to be done with it, brother.”

Tadashi laughs. “Okay, fair enough. I’m gonna see what Draco’s looking at.” And just as suddenly as Tadashi had appeared, he sweeps out of the area.

Hiro moves to another shelf, looking curiously at a book titled _Shades of Magic_. A quick peek inside reveals that there are types of magic, not that Hiro had known that. He decides to get that as well.

After that, he finds Hagrid trying to convince Harry away from _Curses and Countercurses (Bewitch Your Friends and Befuddle Your Enemies with the Latest Revenges: Hair Loss, Jelly-Legs, Tongue-Tying and Much, Much More)_.

Hiro grins and leans over Harry’s shoulder. “Don’t you think a beginner’s book might be an easier read for now? I mean, this looks like it’s for someone more advanced than us.”

“I was hoping to find some curses for my cousin…” Harry admits.

Hagrid shakes his head slightly. “I’m not sayin’ that’s not a good idea, but yer not ter use magic in the muggle world except in very special circumstances. Anyway, yeh couldn’ work any of them curses yet; yeh’ll need a lot more study before yeh get to that level.”

“Bet between all of us, we could find a good prank for your cousin,” Hiro whispers to Harry with an evil smirk across his face.

When purchasing cauldrons, Harry inadvertently upsets Draco by trying to talk Hagrid into allowing him a gold cauldron. The blonde goes off on a tirade about how the gold cauldron would cause a bad reaction in most potions and how it should only be used for very specific potions. Both Hiro and Harry end up learning a fair bit from the rant all the same. Then they all get very nice sets of scales for weighing potion ingredients and collapsible brass telescopes.

Next, they visit the Apothecary, which ends up being fascinating enough to compensate for its horrible smell, a mixture of bad eggs and rotted cabbages. Barrels of slimy stuff stood on the floor; jars of herbs, dried roots, and bright powders lined the walls; bundles of feathers, strings of fangs and snarled claws hung from the ceiling. While Hagrid, Aunt Cass, and Mr. Malfoy ask the man behind the counter for a supply of basic potion ingredients for the group of children, the group examines silver unicorn hours at twenty-one Galleons each and minuscule, glittery-black beetle eyes (five Knuts a scoop).

When Draco brags about how his family could afford the entire barrel of unicorn hours easily, everyone pretends they didn’t hear. Draco quickly lets it go after a pointed look from Tadashi.

Outside the Apothecary, Hagrid and Aunt Cass are both checking the Hogwarts lists, while Mr. Malfoy maintains his disinterested look.

“We’ve got everything,” Aunt Cass says finally. “But Harry’s not quite done. If you lot would like to stay with him while he finishes up, you can.”

Mr. Malfoy looks rather pleased with this, and Hiro doesn’t like the look on the man’s face, nor does he trust him.

“Yeah, juss yer wand left-- oh yeah, an’ I still haven’t got yeh a birthday pressent.” Hagrid says cheerfully.

Harry goes red at this.

“You don’t have to--”

“I know I don’t have to.” Hagrid cuts the boy off with a slight smile. “Tell yeh what, I’ll get yer animal. Not a toad, toads went out of fashion years ago, yeh’d be laughed at-- an’ I don’t like cats, they make me sneeze. I’ll get yer an owl. All the kids want owls, they’re dead useful, carry yer mail and everythin’.”

Twenty minutes later, they left Eeylops Owl Emporium, which had been dark and full of rustling and flickering, jewel-bright eyes. Harry now carries a large cage that held a beautiful snowy owl, fast asleep with her head under her wing. Though the rest had not planned to get owls, Hiro and Tadashi had ended up with a male snowy owl that Hiro had insisted on naming Baymax, much to Tadashi’s confusion, while Fred had acquired a hyper little thing that was unnamed as of now but very happy and fast.

Harry was unable to stop stammering his thanks to Hagrid, while Hagrid steadfastly insists that it was nothing.

“Don’ mention it,” says Hagrid gruffly. “Don’ expect you’ve had a lotta presents from them Dursleys. Juss Ollivanders left now-- only place fer wands, Ollivanders, an’ yeh gotta have the best wand.”

So the group returns to Ollivanders. Though with Hagrid in the group, they could not all fit inside. Hagrid and Harry went in the shop while the rest waited outside. Aunt Cass quickly manages to convince Mr. Malfoy that they should go get the children ice cream, much to everyone’s surprise, so the two adults left shortly thereafter.

Once they were gone, Tadashi grabs Hiro and drags him off to the side of the group. “Hiro, I don’t think you understand the significance of who you’ve befriended. That’s Harry Potter-- the Boy-Who-Lived! He’s famous for destroying the Dark Lord as a baby, Hiro, very, very famous.”

“So?” Hiro grumbles. “Doesn’t mean we should treat him differently…”

“That’s not what I meant at all, Hiro, but he is a very important person. There will be people who will want to befriend him for… less-than-good intentions; people who will want to use him.” Tadashi says softly. “We will have to be careful, and keep an eye out. You need to know what you’ve gotten us all into. You will have to be prepared.”

“Why would anyone want to use him? This Dark Lord is dead, you said. Is this some sort of revenge nonsense? Do you honestly believe that people will go after a child?” Hiro asks, scandalized. He’d hoped that that sort of thing would be left back in San Fransokyo, well away from him.

“Yes,” Tadashi responds bluntly. “Hiro… you need to read about the war in the books. Look, it was sick. And not only that, there are whispers that the Dark Lord is not gone. Someone could seek to use him in an attempt to bring him back.” The boy looks sick at the thought. “Of course, these whispers could be just that, but there would still be people who just want to associate with him for political power, fame and glory.” Tadashi sighs. “Not everyone is as good of a person as you. We need to be careful if we want to keep everyone safe.”

Hiro nods. “I understand. You’re just looking out for me.” _Like you always have,_ he thinks, though that remains unsaid. “We’ll just have to be careful. I bet Harry doesn’t know these things either; he seems to surprised by magic to know about it already.”

Tadashi nods just as Aunt Cass and Mr. Malfoy return with the ice cream. Tadashi nudges Hiro and they both grin, though a bit more forced than before. Careful they may plan to be, but there is no reason to not have fun as well.


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry for taking so long to update, everyone. life has been rather hectic what with me changing shifts at work and starting college and getting ready to move into a new apartment. just when i was finally getting free time to work on an update, i got sick, and then my parents got in a car crash. i'm not particularly concerned with them, but my siblings needed me to play mum and dad more than usual on top of everything. can't say updates will ever really be as fast as they used to be, honestly. but i digress. anyways, here's an update, and i hope you lot enjoy :)

Harry comes back out with his wand as the group waiting outside is finishing up their ice cream. He shows the group the wand with something akin to reverence; everyone looks at it and nods their approval. It looks very nice; it’s smooth and well-polished, much the opposite of Hiro’s which looks rather similar to a tree branch. He grins at the other boy and helps him wrap the box up neatly and put it away.

“That’s everything...” Tadashi says, seeming disappointed.

“Do we have to go?” Fred whines loudly, “Can’t I stay with you, Aunt Cass? Sleepover? Please?” The blonde drags out the ‘please’, sticking out his lip and pouting visibly. “Oh, we could invite Draco and Gogo and Harry too and it would be loads of fun… Please?”

Gogo pops her gum and grins. “Yeah, sounds fun.”

“Draco will be coming home with me; thank you again for watching him, Miss Hamada.” Mr. Malfoy says coldly, taking his son’s hand perhaps a bit more roughly than really necessary and disappearing (Hiro thinks Tadashi said it was called Apparition--) with a loud pop.

Tadashi looks disappointed and perhaps a bit worried, but he doesn’t say anything, just stares at the place that the Malfoys disappeared from.

Harry speaks up quietly now, murmuring, “My aunt and uncle won’t mind if I don’t come back…”

Aunt Cass frowns and Hiro wonders what she is thinking when finally she speaks. “You lot know that you’re welcome at the Café anytime; you don’t have to look so pitiful, Fred, and that applies to you too, Harry; after all, anyone who’s friends with my boys is one of us.”

“I dunno, Miss ‘Amada, I should be gettin’ ‘Arry back ter his family,” Hagrid says.

“Rubbish, they’ve had him for eleven years; they won’t miss him for a night, and I’ll bring him back to them. I’ll even send them a letter if you want.” The brunette woman is stubborn, and Hiro knows that Hagrid is fighting a losing battle, trying to convince her of something once his mind is made up.

Hiro turns to Harry while Aunt Cass argues with Hagrid. “Aunt Cass will get Hagrid to agree; she’s very good like that.”

Harry smiles, though it seems a bit forced, marred by anxiety. “Okay,” he mumbles, looking as though he doesn’t dare to hope, but in that moment, Hagrid huffs at Aunt Cass loudly.

“Now, see ‘ere, Miss ‘Amada, I know ye mean well, but yer don’t understand,” the half-giant protests.

“I don’t understand?” Aunt Cass’ voice is dangerously soft, and Hiro, Tadashi, Fred and even Gogo all wince because that’s the voice Cass uses before she well and good puts you in your place, the voice that always leaves you feeling guilty even if you did nothing wrong. She very rarely speaks like that, but it seems she feels very strongly about this, more strongly than any of them expected. “Please enlighten me as to what I don’t understand, Hagrid. Perhaps you didn’t hear the child say that his family wouldn’t mind if he didn’t come back—not spend the night, but not come back. You see his clothes; tell me, is he dressed appropriately? Do his relatives provide him with proper clothes? Because it sure as hell looks like they don’t.” The brunette woman pinches the bridge of her nose and sucks in a deep breath. “He is a Potter; they are one of the richest families in the wizarding world. Surely his family could afford to clothe him well.”

Hagrid looks quite surprised by the outburst, though it doesn’t stop him from trying to speak up—only to be cut off by Aunt Cass again.

“You met his family, did you not? Pray tell, did they seem like the loving sort?” She scoffs now, shaking her head. “I would be willing to be my entire café that they are the worst sort of people.”

“Dumbledore said—“ Hagrid begins and is quickly cut short by an angry shriek from Cass.

“To hell with Dumbledore!” She snarls. “He is the headmaster; not his guardian! He has no right to the boy; I imagine he’s never even met the boy! I don’t give a damn what Dumbledore says. Harry should be the one to make these decisions, not some meddling old coot. Did you even bother to check on him? Because in the few hours that I’ve spent with him, it’s clear that something is not quite right!” She turns to Harry now, and suddenly her voice is soft and gentle, the way it normally is. “Harry, how does your family treat you? Are you happy with them? Do they feed you?”

Harry seems confused and unsure of what to do. “I… erm… well, no, I’m not particularly happy, no…” He mumbles after several moments of silence, fidgeting where he stands and looking uncomfortable with the situation.

Based on what Aunt Cass said, Hiro wonders if anyone has ever asked Harry how he felt before.

Cass frowns, but then says, “Do you want to stay with them?”

Again, Harry is silent for several moments before he speaks. “No… No, not really.”

“Why is that, Harry?” Cass asks quietly, tacking on at the end, “If you don’t mind my asking, that is.”

Harry looks at the ground and doesn’t answer. Hiro steps forward and places a hand on his arm. He doesn’t say anything to the Boy-Who-Lived, just stands there. Eventually, Harry looks up and says, “We… don’t get along, the Dursleys and I. They hate magic… and they’ve tried to… beat the freakiness out of me… Look, I… I really don’t want to go back, okay? They’re gonna be furious after—“ The dark-haired boy suddenly cuts himself off, leaving everyone confused as to what he was going to say, though his quick glance over to Hagrid seems to point fingers to him having done… _something_ , though it’s unclear what exactly.

“Rubeus Hagrid, what did you do?” Aunt Cass hisses at the half-giant.

Hagrid at least has the decency to look ashamed as he mutters, “Kid deserved it, ‘e did. Stealin’ from poor ‘Arry, not like ‘e ‘as much, yanno.”

“What did you _do_?” Cass looks ready to strangle the man in front of her; it would be comical if the topic on hand wasn’t so serious.

“Well, I might’ve tried to turn ‘is cousin into a pig. S’not my fault the boy was pretty much already one,” Hagrid grumbles.

Aunt Cass taps her foot impatiently. “And?” She demands, waiting for the shoe to drop.

Hagrid looks at the ground and mutters, “’e might’ve grown a pig’s tail.”

Aunt Cass takes a deep breath, pinching her nose. “For Merlin’s sake…! I expect you didn’t fix it, either.” The look on Hagrid’s face is answer enough for the brunette woman, who throws her hands in the air in frustration. “Of course not,” she shakes her head, and sighs. “I’ll fix this then, and handle the situation with Harry’s family. Hagrid, you’ll be going back to Hogwarts now; you’ve done enough damage.”

Hagrid starts to protest, but one look from Cass is enough to silence the man, and he leaves without further protest. Once the man is gone, Cass grins. “Well, boys, looks like a trip to the Ministry is in order for me and Harry; after that we will deal with your wretched family.” Seeing Harry’s apprehensive look, Cass adds, “No worries, once I’m done, you’ll not be going back to those… people.”

The smile that lights up Harry’s face at those words could light up all of Diagon Alley, Hiro thinks.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> it is my firm belief that harry didn't need to stay with the dursleys, but dumbles is trash and manipulated people into leaving him with them. aunt cass won't stand for it, though, so the dursleys are soon to be very sorry. it's not going to be part of the main story, but there will be a side-fic so that ya'll can watch cass totally (verbally) wreck the dursleys :) 
> 
> also, side-fics coming your way soon, so if you wanna see that, keep an eye out


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry for such a long wait; i haven't been well and it's hard to find motivation to work through it. i'll try to do better, and update my other stories soon.

They all floo back to the Lucky Cat from the Leaky Cauldron after Aunt Cass gives Harry an impromptu lesson on how to properly use floo powder. Once they’ve all arrived, Aunt Cass sends everyone upstairs, except for Harry. Hiro and the others crowd around the doorway, trying to catch snippits of what she’s saying to Harry, but they can’t get more than a few words-- they learn nothing from the conversation that they didn’t know already, and then Aunt Cass shouts up the stairs.

“You four behave; we’ll be back shortly.”

There’s a loud pop, and Hiro peers out, but Harry and Aunt Cass are already gone.

“Wow, Cass sure works fast, doesn’t she?” Hiro glances back to Fred, who’s taken up a place on Tadashi’s bed, all sprawled out as he talks. “I’d thought for sure that she’d just write a letter or something before actually _taking_ him to the Ministry.”

“Well, there’s an awful lot that could go wrong with a letter, especially when it concerns Harry Potter’s custody. If the wrong people picked that up, Harry could very well go back to the wrong people. Aunt Cass probably already figured that out,” Tadashi replies as he pushes Fred’s feet off his bed and lies down where they previously lied.

Fred brings his feet back up to rest on Tadashi’s stomach as the dark-haired boy tries to push his friend away from him with a grimace.

“Yes, well, pureblood protocol is pretty important to follow; you know a lot of people won’t listen until you’ve jumped through hoops or thrown money at them,” Gogo comments, leaning against the wall as she watches the two boys struggle with each other.

Hiro, still new to this world, can’t really contribute meaningfully to this conversation. He knows he’s definitely going to need to do a lot of reading to catch up. Still, he’s picking up some details just by listening in; he’s getting the vibe that purebloods are rather elitist-- or at least, some are; he’s quite certain that both Gogo and Fred are purebloods, and neither of them seem to have any problems with him or Tadashi.

“Yeah, that’s a fair point, but Aunt Cass is a pureblood and the current head of the Hamada family, so she’s at least got that going for her. I think they’ll have to at least hear her out, and if she chooses to contact the right person, then everything will go her way.” Tadashi says after finally pushing Fred right off the bed.

Fred doesn’t retaliate, instead just getting comfortable on the floor just as easily as he had on the bed. “Yeah, I really think this whole thing could go either way. It really just depends on who she manages to contact. If Harry knew more about the wizarding world and threw his name around he’d certainly be able to do whatever he wanted, but it was pretty obvious, even to me, that he doesn’t know a thing about how things work in our world.”

“Suppose we’ll just have to hope that Aunt Cass gets the right guy, then, huh?” Hiro muses to himself.

Murmurs of assent echo around the room.

Hiro hopes everything goes right.

* * *

It’s late when another pop startles Hiro from his reading; he abandons his book on pureblood etiquette (a book discreetly suggested by Tadashi when Gogo and Fred were distracted), and makes his way down to Aunt Cass rather quickly, while Tadashi and Fred scramble to put up the Gobstones they’d been playing with while Gogo served as ‘referee’ (read: helped Tadashi cheat when Fred’s back was turned).

Aunt Cass and Harry stand in the middle of the room with a few bags, pieces of clothing peeking out. Harry’s muggle clothing that was little more than rags had been replaced with robes just as nice as Hiro and Tadashi’s, and the broken, taped up glasses too had been replaced with pair of wire-rimmed rectangle frames. Most importantly, Harry himself had a wide smile on his face.

It was clear to Hiro-- Aunt Cass’ quest had been a striking success.

“How’d everything go?” Fred asks from behind Hiro, a grin on his face despite the stinking sap that he’d gotten all over himself in his and Tadashi’s game.

“Say hello to the newest ward of the Hamada family, boys,” Aunt Cass says with a wide grin. “I trust you’ll all behave?”

Tadashi laughs. “When have any of us ever caused trouble?”

How his brother managed to say that with a straight face, Hiro will never know, and Aunt Cass seems to be of the same mind, because she gives Tadashi a skeptical look.

Fred grins and throws his arms around Tadashi. While he tries to get away from Fred, the sap-covered blond adds, “Yeah, we’re all very well behaved, Aunt Cass.”

Aunt Cass laughs and shakes her head. “Go get yourselves cleaned up, you two. Hiro and Gogo, you two don’t mind setting the table for dinner while I show Harry where he’ll be staying, right?”

Hiro knows she isn’t _actually_ asking any of them. Fred drags Tadashi up the stairs while Gogo starts pulling out dishes. Hiro takes the dishes and sets them out on the table without argument, but really, he just wants to speak with Tadashi or Harry again; Tadashi, to clear up some points of confusion from his reading, and Harry because he feels less out of place with the other boy. Hiro is _supposed_ to know all about the wizarding world and how it works, but he doesn’t know these things at all..

It’s getting rather frustrating.

Fortunately, it doesn’t take anyone a long time to finish their tasks, and Tadashi and Fred come into the kitchen, sap-free and clean smelling only a few minutes after Hiro and Gogo have finished getting all the dishes out, and Aunt Cass and Harry arrive a few moments after that.

“How does wings sound, kids?”

“Free food is always good!” Fred exclaims, fist pumping.

Gogo and Tadashi don’t appear to have any complaints, and it’s clear that if Harry wanted something different, he would not dare to say such. Cass pulls out a bowl of rice and wings smothered in sauce from the cabinets. Somehow, the food is still steaming hot-- it takes Hiro a moment to realize that there must have been some sort of spell on it. He’s longing to ask how it was still hot and fresh after sitting in the cabinets, but he can’t. Harry, however, can ask, and he does, with no small amount of fear in his voice-- if it was fear of Aunt Cass or fear of eating spoiled food was unclear.

“Stasis charms,” Aunt Cass explains. “We could cook meals for the whole month and save them if we had the storage space. Maria, the twins’ mother, was pretty surprised too when she learned we didn’t have an icebox; her house had been primarily muggle, and I guess her mother hadn’t thought to explain how a traditional wizarding house was ran.”

The conversation continues on in that manner; Harry has plenty of questions to ask about even the smallest things, and Hiro is grateful, because he learns a lot as everyone happily explains everything they can to him.

It’s the most pleasant dinner Hiro had experienced in years.

 

**Author's Note:**

> This is for a challenge claim in Wizards Vs Muggles. Saw the prompt, immediately loved it. This is like my two favorite fandoms (except for DeSu, but that is a very different love, mind you). This is gonna be like a seven-book long thing because I’m totally gonna do each year. So this one is really gonna be pre-slash more than anything because we’re not about to see eleven year olds doing the do. But yeah, fluff and confused!Hiro and confused!Harry galore~


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